Feelings confessed
by Kamiyoko
Summary: Subtitle: Everything should be alright now, shouldn't it? There is not really a summary needed. This will have several chapters.
1. Episode 1: Confession?

Author's Note:

I hope some of you like what I wrote.^^

This story is mainly focused on the pairing Akira/Nobuta (because I love them so much). It is set during the last Episode of the Dorama (I altered things to my liking :P) and might continue.

Disclaimer: I don't own NwP, nor any of the characters (if I did...*laughs menacingly*)

Have fun, enjoy!

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„AKIRA."

There she went again. Shouting his name like she was being totally angry at him. But in fact, the girl, nicknamed Nobuta by her two closest friends, was not. Ever since Akira told his friends to call him by his first name, the normally quiet girl shouted it like that for no reason, although she spoke Shuuji's name in a perfectly normal way. He couldn't explain it at all, but it bothered him a great deal.

He turned around to face the girl.

„Haa~i, what is it, No-bu-ta?", he asked, putting special emphasis on her name.

„D-don't you think that... after all, s-something's bothering him?", Nobuta began.

„You mean Shuuji-kun? Well, yeah, he's kinda weird lately. Wonder what it is..." Akira pondered.

„We should try to help him... as his friends I mean.", the girl stuttered. „Ch-cheer him up or something."

Somehow, Akira got an uneasy feeling, whenever he heard Nobuta talk about Shuuji in that kind of way. He thought of that one photo locked in a box deep inside his heart, where he desperately tried to erase it from his memory.

„That", he began to speak, his voice slightly trembling. „I mean... we don't even know the reason why he's so depressed, do we? Don't you think that, as a friend, he should normally tell us about it?"

Akira had a really serious face. And he was quite pissed at the fact that Shuuji was obviously hiding something from them. That just wasn't normal.

It was true that Shuuji deceived practically the whole school by acting as the popular guy who's always cheerful and who doesn't have any problems at all. But that didn't count for him and Nobuta. Shuuji was completely himself around them. He could tell them everything. That was why they were such close friends. So what was wrong now?

The quiet girl next to Akira started to speak again, her head bent down to the ground. „I... I think that he will tell us... when he feels like it. Until then we just have to be cheerful and... protect his smile."

_'Cheerful'_... to hear something like that from the girl that even had a hard time just smiling was... weird. But she had a point, that was undeniable.. It just bugged him to hear Nobuta say that she wanted to protect Shuuji's smile. He wondered if she'd say the same thing about him. After all, he was pretty depressed himself. It was just that nobody seemed to notice. And this depressed him even more. It was always _'Shuuji here, Shuuji there...'_ **Wait**! He swore not to be jealous. Not to think about it anymore, especially not about that photo...

„A-AKIRA... what is wrong?" At the sound of his name, Akira immediately looked up. He saw Nobuta stare at him, waiting for an answer. „You look like you're thinking about something."

„Ano-sa...", Akira began in a serious tone, „Why is it that you always shout my name like that, anyway?" Akira scratched his head and looked at Nobuta.

She was confused.

„I-I don't really...I don't know..." She broke off, not knowing what to say.

Akira looked away from her. „What do you not know? It's strange... It's like you're being angry at me or something." He laughed in his typical high pitched way.

„N-NO! I'm not angry at you. It's just... I'm nervous..." The last part was almost inaudible, but Akira could hear it nonetheless. His heart skipped a beat. He looked at her, hope flickering in his eyes.

„N-nervous? What do you mean? You're not nervous saying Shuuji's name."

„I-it's different, somehow.... I can't explain it, I guess."

Akira gulped. Although her face was pointing towards the ground and her hair covered most of it, he was sure to have seen for a second that Nobuta's cheeks were slightly red.

„So you mean... that you feel different towards me than you feel towards Shuuji? Is that it?"

„After a short moment of hesitation and consideration, Nobuta gave a small nod. Her face became hot for some reason.

Akira gulped again. His heart was beating so fast that he was scared it could break his chest.

„Y-you do?" Gulp. „But in which way? Are you angry at me, after all?"

Nobuta shook her head.

„If it's not anger, then what could it be?"

Akira really wanted to her it from Nobuta.

To hear that she liked him.

„I... don't know this feeling. It's unfamiliar with me, but your name... saying it kind of... makes my heart beat faster... or something... it's strange, but... I can stop it, if it bothers you!"

„NO, don't stop it!", Akira burst out, his face burning. „I mean... you don't have to force yourself." He tried hard not to grin. „You can shout my name all you want, if you feel like it. It's no problem for me at all." Suddenly, it really was no problem for him anymore.

„B-but you were bothered by it, weren't you?"

„It's totally ok, don't worry." Akira gave Nobuta a wide smile. „I'm happy.", he exclaimed, looking both relieved and content. „I thought that you liked Shuuji more than me."

Nobuta looked at him with a shocked expression in her face.

„Wh-why? Why should I like Sh-Shuuji more than you? W-we're all friends, aren't we? So I like the two of you... the same..." Nobuta got quiet and looked down. She held her hand to her chest Why was her heart beating so fast?

„Nobuta..." Akira's smile was gone. Instead, he looked serious again. „Do you really feel the same about me and Shuuji? Look into your heart... Is it really the same feeling?" _(Was he really saying this??)_

„I-I don't know." The shy girl looked really confused. She truly wasn't familiar with this feeling. Suddenly, she remembered Akira taking her hand and placing it on his cheek when they were in the ambulance together, saying that it was not dirty.

Why?

She tried to look at Akira, but found that she couldn't look him in the eyes anymore.

But why?

„Did you find an answer?" He gulped.

_'Why is Akira so serious? And why am I so uncomfortable all of a sudden? It's not supposed to be like this'_, Nobuta thought. „I..." She didn't know what to say. She suddenly felt Akira moving closer. Her heart thumped and she didn't dare look up.

He came to a halt just a few centimetres in front of her. He took her hand into his trembling one and asked: „What do you feel right now?"

Nobuta was utterly shocked. She didn't know at all what to respond. Akira continued. „Is it a good feeling? Or a bad feeling? Which is it?"

Nobuta finally gathered the courage to lift her head, only to find him staring at her with a deadly serious face. And he was blushing, too. That only made the girl more nervous.

She felt her hand resting in his.... it was warm and nice, so it was a good feeling, wasn't it?? But what about her beating heart and hurting chest? This clearly didn't feel good at all!

After waiting for quite a long time, Akira said: „Seems like you cannot decide..."

He was disappointed, but he didn't think of giving up. Not when he came this far.

„Then... what about this?" And at that he closed the remaining distance between them by taking the girl into a close embrace.

Now, Nobuta was completely lost. She couldn't think at all anymore and her cheeks were burning. _'He didn't...'_

She could feel the warmth of his body invade her own and it calmed her a bit, somehow. But her body trembled and her heart raced and she didn't know what to say or do.

„Nobuta... you know, actually I wanted to say this to you since a long time ago..." He held her a bit tighter. „But somehow... I never got the chance, after all. Just when I decided to finally tell you, you punched me in the face and after that... I somehow lost the courage. I really didn't mean to hurt you at that time, you know? ... I was so stupid... being jealous of my best friend...

Anyway, what I wanted to tell you was..."

Nobuta's chest hurt so much.

„I like you."

Bang. A straight hit.

_'Wh-what did he just say???'_ Nobuta's eyes widened in shock and her left cheek was pressed against Akira's chest. She could hear his heart beat at least as fast as her own.

What was going on?? Nobuta couldn't understand the world anymore.

Why did Akira act like this all of a sudden?

And why did she feel like she never felt before?

And what was this about Akira telling her that he liked her? Wait-

was that...

Nobuta felt Akira's grip tighten on her, just before he let go of her.

She felt the cold air around her again.

_'I said it. I said it!'_ „S-so, what is your answer?" He gulped, his voice trembling. Nonetheless, he looked at her and examined her expression, which made him blush madly.

Nobuta was flushed. _'So this was- this was a... c-c-c-confession??? Wh-why? Why do I feel so strongly about this? I didn't feel anything like this with Shittaka-kun, so why?? M-maybe, it's, because I'm c-closer with A-A__kira?''_

„This...", Nobuta began, her voice trembling heavily from anxiety. „This... I'm..."  
But Akira decided not to wait for an answer, since it would clearly take ages until she said it, so he bent down, took her cheeks in his hands, closed his eyes and

_kissed her._

Her lips felt warm and soft against his and he could've stayed like this forever, but he realized that the girl he loved would die from oxygen deficiency, if he didn't end the kiss immediately. So he ended it begrudgingly.

_Air._

Nobuta couldn't stop her heart from beating madly in her chest.

He has kissed her. He has really kissed _her._

Never did she think that something like this could happen to her. Was it normal to feel so nervous?

What was he thinking right now?

What was she thinking right now?

„Nobuta... was... was it alright for me to kiss you? I just thought you-"

„S-stop it!" Nobuta's voice was shaking, but she sounded serious. She couldn't be... angry, could she? This would be the worst thing that could happen. Akira was scared.

„Nobuta. Did I do something wrong? I shouldn't have... k-kissed you?"

He sounded desperate. He wanted to hear her say it. He wanted reassurance. He wanted to feel at ease.

„Say it. Please! That you like me, too!" Ah! He didn't intend saying it out loud, but he couldn't help it anymore. He stared at Nobuta with anticipation.

And she answered.

„I... I like you."

He couldn't believe his ears.

Did she really say it? Or did his ears betray him? „Y-you mean, you really like me?"

She nodded.

„L-like reeeeeeaaaally~ really??"

Nod.

Akira felt the corners of his lips move upwards into a wide smile.  
"AKIRA HAPPY!"

He jumped at Nobuta and hugged her tightly. He was so unbelievably, unbelievably happy!

Nobuta tried to think.

Did she just not want to disappoint Akira? Or did she really feel like this about him? To be honest, she did not know. She never felt anything like this before.

_Was it love?_

„Nobutaa, Nobutaaa, Nobutaaaaaa~~"

Akira sang her name in such a happy way that it somehow calmed her.

She was... _really being loved?_ By _him_, one of her two best friends?

She still couldn't believe it.

And she said, she liked him, too. But was that feeling she had really love?

She needed someone to talk with about this. _But who...?_

tbc~


	2. Episode 2: Bad news?

„Shuuji."

Shuuji turned around to face the girl who called him.

Nobuta stared at him. She gulped.  
„..."

„What is it, Nobuta?"

„..."

Shuuji became kind of impatient.  
„Listen. I don't have very much time right now, so if it's not that important, can we talk later, please?"

„Oh... ok."

„I'm really sorry. Gomen!" And he rushed away. He did look like he was in a hurry.

Well... it wasn't like she could talk with him about this, after all.

_'Maybe this is what they call girls' talk. So I need to talk with a girl... but who... Aoi-san is...'_

She couldn't think of any girl to confide in. She didn't have a best girl friend like any normal girl had and she doubted that she could talk about her feelings with just _anyone_.

There _was_ Shuuji's ex-girlfriend. Well, she has never really been his girlfriend, but she was the only other girl beside Aoi she could think of. But seeing her might remind her of how she was rejected by Shuuji and this would only complicate things. She wasn't even sure if she could talk to Uehara Mariko, the most popular girl in school, and tell her about her feelings. Would she even be interested?

Nobuta thought of herself as a bother again.

But nonetheless...

„Uehara-san."

it happened only on an impulse, but when Nobuta and Mariko crossed paths in the hallway of the school the next day, Nobuta called out to her. She regretted it immediately.

Mariko turned around and saw Nobuta standing there and looking at her. She walked towards her and stopped in front of her.

„Kotani-san? Did you call me just now?"

Nobuta nodded. „Umm, I...."

„Well, whatever it is, I'm in quite a hurry right now, so-"

„I need your help!" Nobuta shouted out loud, breathlessly.

Mariko was surprised. Kotani Nobuko needed her help?

„I don't really know if I could be of any help to you..."

„You could. You definitely could!" Although all this was already too embarassing for Nobuta, she didn't want to let it go just now. . She told herself that she had to keep insisting.

„...please. I swear that I won't ever bother you again after this. I just... need to clarify something...."

_'Clarify something? What does she mean? Does she perhaps talk about Shuuji?''_

„Alright, I'll help you.", she decided at last.

Nobuta looked up, relieved and thankful towards the beautiful girl.

„So, what is it you need my help with?", Mariko asked. They were on the school's rooftop, where she, Shuuji and Akira normally met. It felt weird, being here with Mariko now.

„A-actually I.... don't know if I can talk to you about this..." Nobuta stuttered. Somehow, she has lost her confidence.

Mariko looked at her. So was it really about Shuuji...?

„Now, Kotani-san. Didn't you yourself say that you needed my help? I'll try my best, I promise."

She smiled at Nobuta, hoping that the girl would speak out what she wanted to say.

„O-ok."

„Wait. Let us sit down, okay?"

Mariko pointed at the stairs and sat down. Nobuta did the same after hesitating for a second.

„So, what is it?" Mariko looked at her.

Nobuta looked at the floor, her hands clenching her skirt. „It-It's about my f-feelings."

„Your feelings?" Mariko was shocked. She didn't have feelings for Shuuji, did she??

Nobuta gave a nod. „I... suddenly have feelings I'm not familiar with and I don't know what they mean, so... so I thought that perhaps y-you could tell me...." Nobuta felt like dying.___ 'She will definitely laugh at me. How could I have told her this? I'm-'_

„Those feelings. Could you describe them to me?" Mariko had a completely serious voice. She didn't laugh. So, maybe this wasn't a mistake, after all.

„Umm... this feeling, it's kind of painful. I don't really know if I can describe it correctly..."

„Just say what strikes you most. What is the most noticable aspect of this feeling?"

„The pain... in my chest." Nobuta clenched her fist on her chest as if she could feel the pain this moment.

_'So it's what I thought...'_ Mariko thought. „So you feel a pain in your chest. Where exactly?"

Nobuta placed her hand right above her heart.

„Your heart, huh... Well, what other symptoms do you have? Like, does your heart beat faster than normally?"

Nobuta nodded.

„And does your face feel hot all of a sudden?"

Another nod.

„And... do your hands tremble?"

Yet another nod.

„Do you feel really nervous when you have this feeling?"

Nobuta nodded again, wondering how Mariko could know all this.

„Well... it should be clear, then."

Nobuta looked at Mariko, who stretched her arms in front of herself.

„You're in love."

Nobuta's eyes widened in shock. How...

„H-how do you know?"

„Well... I have the same symptoms as you when I'm with Shuuji."

Nobuta gasped.

„Why are you so shocked? Don't tell me that you feel like this around Shuuji, too." Mariko sounded angry. She couldn't believe it.

But Nobuta shook her head vigorously.

„Wh- not?" Mariko was bewildered. Just when she was sure...

„But who is it, then?"

Nobuta looked down again. She became terribly red.

„Oh, sorry, I shouldn't have asked!"

„K-..."

„Hm?"

„Ku-..."

Ku?"

„Kusano AKIRA", she finally managed to burst out. She still shouted Akira's name and he wasn't even around.

„K-___Kusano-kun?_" Mariko had to try hard not to laugh. It wasn't that she found it funny that Kotani was obviously in love with Kusano. It was just that she wanted to laugh at her own stupidity. How could she have thought even for a second that there could be something like this between Kotani and Shuuji? ...Well, ok, she _had been_ quite concerned at several occasions in the past, but one should learn from one's mistakes, isn't that right?

„Wow." Mariko sighed.

Nobuta looked at her from behind her hair, which partly covered her eyes, because her head was bent down. „Wh-what?"

„I just didn't expect this. You and... Kusano, eh?"

„..."

„So, how is it? Does he like you, too? Did he, by chance, confess to you already?"

Nobuta's face burned. She nodded.

„He did??? Well, that's great, isn't it? Ahh~, I'm envious..."

„S-sorry..."

„What? Why do you apologize? It's not like it's your fault or anything...

So, what did you respond when he made the confession?"

„I... said I like him, too."

„Waahhh, you did?? But I thought you weren't sure about your feelings?"

„I wasn't, but... somehow, I didn't want to disappoint him..."

„So that's how it is. Then he must be really important to you, huh?"

Nobuta nodded.

„You're really lucky... being loved by the person you like..."

„I-I'm sure that... s-someday, he will realize that you are an important person to him, too! And then he will come to you and you can talk about your feelings with him, just how I could talk about mine with you!" Nobuta tried the best she could to cheer up the girl who helped her.

But Mariko sighed. „Yeah, that would be nice...."

„I-I'm sure about it!"

„Mm, you're right." Mariko smiled at Nobuta. „Thanks."

„No... I have to thank you! Th-thank you very much!" And Nobuta bowed her head towards Mariko.

„I'm glad I could help." She stood up. „Well... I think I'll be going now. Homeroom starts soon. And good luck with Kusano-kun." Mariko waved goodbye and headed down the stairs.

Nobuta quickly stood up. „You, too, good luck!", she shouted after Mariko. But she wasn't sure if she still heard it.

Later that day, Nobuta met up with Shuuji and Akira on the rooftop. Shuuji had asked them to come. He said he had something important to tell them.

When Nobuta's and Akira's eyes met, both started blushing madly and they immediately looked in different directions. They haven't seen each other since their confessions.

Shuuji looked at them. He didn't know about anything. „What's wrong with you guys?" He looked at each of them alternatingly.

„___Ahahaha!_ Just what is it??" Akira moved his arms up and down in a funny way, trying to hide the fact that he was nervous.

Nobuta stood with her back facing the boys. She looked on the ground, totally silent.

„_Seriously,_ what is it with you? You're even weirder than usually."

„You really shouldn't talk like this about your friends, ___Sh-uu-u-ji-kun__._" Akira stretched out his arms and was about to hug Shuuji and Shuuji was about to push Akira away, as Nobuta began to speak.

„S-so what was it you wanted to tell us?"

Shuuji suddenly fell silent and his gaze became distant. He went up to the guardrail and looked at the horizon.

„I'm gonna move away soon."


End file.
